Don't Be Ridiculous
It is fourteen days since my last post, so I'll start this one off by wishing the Empress a happy 21st--I hope it turns out better for her than it did for me, and I expect it probably will too: I've already completely forgotten how my 21st birthday went.
(I just spent a few minutes reading how it went. Apparently nothing at all occurred.)
...well, then, let's see. 14 days, two weeks; what's happened in that two weeks? A great deal, I must say. This post is going to be a rather long one, so I might as well type it today since the rest of this week promises to be rather less than refreshing.
I returned to Spore last July the 20th, and there was a camp on July the--let me see--the--oh dear, my memory's definitely failing me these days, but I'm relatively sure it was the 22nd to the 24th of July; it was for the University's branch of Campus Crusade, since I'm one of the Bible study group leaders (it's how I tend to explain my role, since saying "SM" tends to lead to long speeches and explanations, and I really don't very much like long expository speeches) and required training. Besides, it was a chance to meet everybody else up after three months and it's good to be able to say we haven't lost any familiarity with each other as yet.
The camp wasn't exactly tiring, though it did tend to end late, what with all the suppers--the food there was, I suppose, quite good; but I'd only just got back from Malaysia and my taste buds were still adjusting at the time, so it was only on the first night of supper that I got out of the "we do food better in Malaysia" line of thought that always hovers over me just after getting back. It was good to meet the new people, too.
After the camp it was a few more days, during which the Hall office kept sending me emails suggesting I should move out--at first gently, and then they grew more insistent; and then they decided they had better threaten to change the keys. I think I moved into the current room some time before the 29th--let me see--I returned from the first camp on the 24th; which means I moved rooms on the 26th or so; maybe the 27th. I had help, of course: I got a taxi to help with the transport and a friend (with whom I am now squatting--let us call him Goalkeeper, because he does that well) to help with carrying things around and, naturally, to provide a place for the things to be carried to.
My family turned up in Spore on the first night of the first camp, if I recall correctly, and stayed a few days; but I only actually met them for a day or two of their stay here, in between camps--I think I met them on Sunday and Monday, which means I was already moved by the 27th at least. It wasn't the best of meetings; for one thing, retirement hasn't mellowed my father at all and he's still the same grumpy, rushing, incredibly stressed-out person he's been for the past half century or so. We exchanged maybe five lines of dialogue through the entire two days, mostly about my lack of plans for self-improvement during the remainder of the holidays (two lines) and how slowly I was moving along through public transport (three lines). As for the rest--ah well. The Empress is the only one I can really comfortably talk to, I think; the parents, for obvious reasons, are extremely uncomfortable people to talk to--and should they ever read this they are likely to throw their hands up and growl something about me being remarkably uncommunicative as well. Gobbler's getting to be more and more like dad, though I'm trying to head him off before he gets there, and the two youngest--*throws hands up in air*--the kid sister is a quiet thing and the kid brother is a lump of stone that only good manners prevent me from curb stomping.
As it was, I lived with them for two days, didn't really enjoy myself terribly--why is it that they have no concept of relaxation or entertainment, and seem to imagine that one can spew out enlightening tidbits of information at the drop of a hat? The Gobbler met me and the first thing he said was "Hi, what did you learn at camp?" upon which I started sifting through three days' and two nights' worth of information and tried to figure out what sort of thing I had learned that he might want to know about, and said "Lots of things" to stall a bit. And then we met the parents and he said I'd forgotten everything already. Really.
At any rate they left for So Hour on Monday, during which a great deal of stupidity occurred and the last thing my father said to me before they left was "always late!" on the phone as I was trying to get to the bus depot with the Empress to see them off. At that point the Empress took the phone away from me (possibly seeing my expression) and she took care of the rest of the "conversation" if you can call it that. My parents have a habit of going on and on for lengths of time about what they see as fatal flaws in people, regardless of its propriety or the discomfort of the people they are talking to (or about).
Well, the family left for So Hour, and I resumed normal, non-aggravating life, which meant the second camp--for freshmen, but I went as a senior--also by Campus Crusade. (Yes, I'm relatively involved in it. Don't look so surprised. I don't sit in front of this laptop all the time, you know.) It was pretty fun, too, and decidedly tiring on the second night since everybody decided that sleep was overrated and broke out cards and various other things to play games with. I have it on good authority that the guitars had barely three hours of rest between them and certainly I got barely three hours myself, having stayed up until 3.30am watching half-asleep, full-grown boys (egads, the way some of them go into hysterics!) roll around floors giggling whenever somebody lost a game, or got a penalty for losing too many times (they call it a "forfeit"), and so on. Very enjoyable the camp was.
...and that was about five days ago; the rest of the time has been mostly spent between Goalkeeper and Herr Robson, who (until just now) was living in a nearby block. We've been having a lot of meals together, and admittedly it's good to get out and have some human contact once in awhile. Goalkeeper's a nice guy, but we're different enough that it's always a little bit awkward, I think... or perhaps I just don't know him well enough yet, and certainly it's bad manners to complain about one's host when the host has been faultlessly polite.
I played pool yesterday... it's similar to billiards (which I played with the siblings before, in Fifth Hun), but I had to re-learn how to play all over again and I've gotten very attached to that little marvelous stick with the large X on one end of it. Very useful that thing is, and much more stable than my left hand! And then I tried playing soccer and found myself the heaviest person of the 8 that were playing; and of course, I was slow and lumbering and utterly without any sort of decent reaction speed. (And since I was wearing slippers I couldn't kick very well either.) It was also entirely tiring and very... constraining? It's odd how people enjoy being unable to use various body parts in a game--it's like a Self Imposed Challenge, but you have to have at least some level of skill to undertake those things, and I haven't got any.
I really want to start swimming regularly again, I think. Maybe I'll also take up jogging or running or badminton, if I can find somebody of my fitness level who'll not mind it; that'll be difficult, obviously. I'm far more unfit than the average person.
(I just spent a few minutes reading how it went. Apparently nothing at all occurred.)
...well, then, let's see. 14 days, two weeks; what's happened in that two weeks? A great deal, I must say. This post is going to be a rather long one, so I might as well type it today since the rest of this week promises to be rather less than refreshing.
I returned to Spore last July the 20th, and there was a camp on July the--let me see--the--oh dear, my memory's definitely failing me these days, but I'm relatively sure it was the 22nd to the 24th of July; it was for the University's branch of Campus Crusade, since I'm one of the Bible study group leaders (it's how I tend to explain my role, since saying "SM" tends to lead to long speeches and explanations, and I really don't very much like long expository speeches) and required training. Besides, it was a chance to meet everybody else up after three months and it's good to be able to say we haven't lost any familiarity with each other as yet.
The camp wasn't exactly tiring, though it did tend to end late, what with all the suppers--the food there was, I suppose, quite good; but I'd only just got back from Malaysia and my taste buds were still adjusting at the time, so it was only on the first night of supper that I got out of the "we do food better in Malaysia" line of thought that always hovers over me just after getting back. It was good to meet the new people, too.
After the camp it was a few more days, during which the Hall office kept sending me emails suggesting I should move out--at first gently, and then they grew more insistent; and then they decided they had better threaten to change the keys. I think I moved into the current room some time before the 29th--let me see--I returned from the first camp on the 24th; which means I moved rooms on the 26th or so; maybe the 27th. I had help, of course: I got a taxi to help with the transport and a friend (with whom I am now squatting--let us call him Goalkeeper, because he does that well) to help with carrying things around and, naturally, to provide a place for the things to be carried to.
My family turned up in Spore on the first night of the first camp, if I recall correctly, and stayed a few days; but I only actually met them for a day or two of their stay here, in between camps--I think I met them on Sunday and Monday, which means I was already moved by the 27th at least. It wasn't the best of meetings; for one thing, retirement hasn't mellowed my father at all and he's still the same grumpy, rushing, incredibly stressed-out person he's been for the past half century or so. We exchanged maybe five lines of dialogue through the entire two days, mostly about my lack of plans for self-improvement during the remainder of the holidays (two lines) and how slowly I was moving along through public transport (three lines). As for the rest--ah well. The Empress is the only one I can really comfortably talk to, I think; the parents, for obvious reasons, are extremely uncomfortable people to talk to--and should they ever read this they are likely to throw their hands up and growl something about me being remarkably uncommunicative as well. Gobbler's getting to be more and more like dad, though I'm trying to head him off before he gets there, and the two youngest--*throws hands up in air*--the kid sister is a quiet thing and the kid brother is a lump of stone that only good manners prevent me from curb stomping.
As it was, I lived with them for two days, didn't really enjoy myself terribly--why is it that they have no concept of relaxation or entertainment, and seem to imagine that one can spew out enlightening tidbits of information at the drop of a hat? The Gobbler met me and the first thing he said was "Hi, what did you learn at camp?" upon which I started sifting through three days' and two nights' worth of information and tried to figure out what sort of thing I had learned that he might want to know about, and said "Lots of things" to stall a bit. And then we met the parents and he said I'd forgotten everything already. Really.
At any rate they left for So Hour on Monday, during which a great deal of stupidity occurred and the last thing my father said to me before they left was "always late!" on the phone as I was trying to get to the bus depot with the Empress to see them off. At that point the Empress took the phone away from me (possibly seeing my expression) and she took care of the rest of the "conversation" if you can call it that. My parents have a habit of going on and on for lengths of time about what they see as fatal flaws in people, regardless of its propriety or the discomfort of the people they are talking to (or about).
Well, the family left for So Hour, and I resumed normal, non-aggravating life, which meant the second camp--for freshmen, but I went as a senior--also by Campus Crusade. (Yes, I'm relatively involved in it. Don't look so surprised. I don't sit in front of this laptop all the time, you know.) It was pretty fun, too, and decidedly tiring on the second night since everybody decided that sleep was overrated and broke out cards and various other things to play games with. I have it on good authority that the guitars had barely three hours of rest between them and certainly I got barely three hours myself, having stayed up until 3.30am watching half-asleep, full-grown boys (egads, the way some of them go into hysterics!) roll around floors giggling whenever somebody lost a game, or got a penalty for losing too many times (they call it a "forfeit"), and so on. Very enjoyable the camp was.
...and that was about five days ago; the rest of the time has been mostly spent between Goalkeeper and Herr Robson, who (until just now) was living in a nearby block. We've been having a lot of meals together, and admittedly it's good to get out and have some human contact once in awhile. Goalkeeper's a nice guy, but we're different enough that it's always a little bit awkward, I think... or perhaps I just don't know him well enough yet, and certainly it's bad manners to complain about one's host when the host has been faultlessly polite.
I played pool yesterday... it's similar to billiards (which I played with the siblings before, in Fifth Hun), but I had to re-learn how to play all over again and I've gotten very attached to that little marvelous stick with the large X on one end of it. Very useful that thing is, and much more stable than my left hand! And then I tried playing soccer and found myself the heaviest person of the 8 that were playing; and of course, I was slow and lumbering and utterly without any sort of decent reaction speed. (And since I was wearing slippers I couldn't kick very well either.) It was also entirely tiring and very... constraining? It's odd how people enjoy being unable to use various body parts in a game--it's like a Self Imposed Challenge, but you have to have at least some level of skill to undertake those things, and I haven't got any.
I really want to start swimming regularly again, I think. Maybe I'll also take up jogging or running or badminton, if I can find somebody of my fitness level who'll not mind it; that'll be difficult, obviously. I'm far more unfit than the average person.
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